Lateral Slit Method

What exactly is the “lateral slit method”? Do you use it? How does it improve results?

The lateral slit method for placing grafts in a hair transplant recipient area constitutes the use of slits which are oriented from ear to ear, rather than slits that are oriented front to back. Proper slit making is best done with very small slits, measuring between 0.8-1.1 mm in length. Clearly for people with coarse hair the wider hair shaft may require the longer slits, while those people with fine hair will require smaller slits.

The skills in placing lateral slits is different than the more conventional slits oriented front to back. It is slightly more difficult for those not accustomed to the technical issues involved in the process. The claimed advantage of lateral slits are many, including:

1. As the grafts heal, there is a fence like orientation of the hairs within the grafts which may increase a sense of fullness from a frontal view.
2. There is a possibility that the hairs may angle forward from the point where they exit the skin. This may accentuate the layering effect from the transplant and some people believe that this will create more fullness.

The problem with these ideas is that there is no proof. But despite the absence of proof, I perform lateral slits in almost all of our transplants because there is no down side to doing it this way. I wrote about the lateral slit method earlier this month: Lateral Slits and Transplanted Hair Direction.